AT&T data signal needs a big improvement

My iPhone 3G showed the "No Service" sign before switching back to Edge Wednesday morning.

(Credit: Dong Ngo/CNET Networks)

Update at noon PDT: AT&T said it has fixed a problem that caused many Northeast iPhone users to complain that they couldn't access the mobile Web.

I saw a post Wednesday morning that talked about the iPhone data signal outage in the Northeast and thought to myself "Northeast? How about Northern California?"

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and wasn't able to get any 3G signal at all this morning during my commute. The phone automatically used Edge and if I manually reset it to use 3G, it said "No Service" for a while before using Edge again. And even in Edge mode, it was super slow.

I remember AT&T claiming to be the fastest 3G network in the U.S. just one day before the launch of the iPhone 3G. I've had my iPhone 3G for more than a month now and so far it's been rare that I've been happy with both the speed and stability of the 3G signal. The phone switches back and forth between Edge and 3G randomly, and if the switch takes place during a call, the conversation gets interrupted. Most of the time, I turn off the 3G to have a more stable voice signal.

None of my friends or co-workers are totally happy about the 3G signal either, except for one who traveled to Minnesota and reported that it was very good there. But hey, we live in the Bay Area.

So admit it, AT&T, there's something wrong with your data network. I hope this widespread data outage happening right now in the Northeast becomes a cry for improvement. A big improvement.

[popponesset]

I live in Southern california and have yet to to be able to use my phone in the 3G mode. Not in Anaheim, downtown LA or anywhere along the highway to and from???

[downanda]

seriously? it's gotta be something with your area, because CT and NY are fine for me with 3G. Not to mention I have better service than my Verizon and Sprint friends, and I never lose call quality if my phone switches from 3G to EDGE. Either the iPhone is just garbage, or you complain a lot, because none of the problems you mentioned seem to be spread throughout the country. And 3G really IS the fastest.

[bhogg1245]

I have yet to bite the bullet for the 3G. But ever since the 2.0 and 2.0.2 updates, I have had basically no internet over the EDGE network. Either their network is overloaded or there is a software issue. Either way, it's time for a fix.

[ferdmani]

I don't understand why this is just coming out now! The 2G iPhone which I've had for well over a year now has the same problems. Horrible service, dropped calls all the time and I live right outside NY city, one of the most populated areas in the U.S. There are cell phone towers, EVERYWHERE! I can't drive on the highway anywhere and talk through an entire conversation. Forget going North, South, or West of the City. Service go bye-bye. Basically my iPhone is an iDevice. it does everything (using that word loosely) well, except for it's phone functionality. C'mon Apple/ATT&T you made us pay top dollar for our 2G phones. We have yet to see a horizontal keyboard for Text messages, I still can't send Media messages. Free phones that come in Corn Flakes probably have that feature by now. I was waiting for a backlash from the public, but it never arrived until the 3G release. Well it's great that they are trying to fix all their connection problems, but how about the millions who spent the extra money on our 2G phones? Apple should be sued for their false claims of fewest dropped calls. I have keyboard lag, I have a phone that restarts whenever it feels like, choppy service and the only update Apple comes out with a new way cover flow changes when you turn the phone sideways. All I know is, when my contract runs out next July I'm switching back to Verizon. Can you hear me now!?

[dr1zz]

Im in the bay area as well and have experienced nothing but troubles with my Iphone. I updated to the 2.0.2, and in my eyes, everything has gotten worse. I get more dropped calls and failed calls. My signal is pretty bad now. I miss calls and the only way I know Ive missed them is if they happen to leave a message. The damn phone doesnt even ring. Not to mention that this phone is missing so many features like a simple video recorder and MMS. I think its time for a change back to the companies that know how to make phones.

[ferdmani]

downanda...You must have a Enigma of a Phone.

I spent a day at the Liberty State Park in NY/NJ for a concert a few weeks back. And anyone who had AT&T at that concert had no service. I mean none! If you lost your friend amongst the 50,000 people, you had zero chance of contacting them. I received over 10 text messages when I left that were back logged on the Network.

[kvc63]

I also live in Southern Cal. Our whole company was forced to switch from Verizon to AT&T. Wow, what a negative experience it has been. Dropped calls like crazy. AT&T definitely has some serious problems.

[mark.everett]

I live in the Dallas area and have consistently good 3G, on my AT&T Tilt. In Southlake, near the Apple Store I compared signal strength and perceived 3G speed with the new owner of an Apple 3G. On my phone, signal strength was better and perceived 3G speed on the internet was too (of course, there is a difference between the rendering speed of the different browsers). Perhaps it's the network, but I suspect a lot of the issue has to do with the device. The AT&T Tilt (an HTC phone) also has an internal antenna.

[kascherer]

I live in Austin and experience the same level of service. I have the HTC Tilt and previously used the HTC 8525 with no issues. My mother-in-law has an iPhone and lives in San Antonio, she frequently loses service here and there.

[jmatthies]

I could not agree MORE!!!! I have had my iPhone for about 9 months now in Wisconsin, and the signal gets worse, and worse each month. I am in charge of an IT area for an insurance company, and my staff has been complaining about the signal, and I also am beginning to believe there is a problem with the AT&T wireless signal strength.

[Norge-One]

Crapple iPhone.

I have been on board for all of Apple's stuff... laptop, desktop, ipod etc... but this thing is a joke. I've had my iPhone for about a year now. Dropped calls, keyboard lag, the slowest web EVER, no picture messages, and numerous other glitchy issues makes this officially my worst phone mistake ever. I thought it would make keeping in touch with work better. I was wrong. I have been very close to tossing it out the window of my car several times. Oh yeah, it hardly worked at all in Europe, but my attempts to retrieve data cost me several hundred dollars. Crapple, Crapple, Crapple.

[MaverickCentricity]

Yeah, I can corroborate what Mark said...I have an AT&T Tilt and I consistently have a strong signal in the Dallas area. It's rare that I ever switch to edge, but this may be an area issue and/or device issue.

[theoratical]

I live in Chicago and 3G signal sucks everywhere, particularly in the suburbs. I have totally given up on 3G. I keep using edge and it's much faster thatn 3G. 3G slows down iphone too. It sucks that they advertise broadband like speeds, but then you get a slow service.

On top of that, for some reason, in the mornings, I have to first make a phone call so that my iphone finds the network before I can use any of the applications that use internet.

This sucks ass and ATT should fix it, if not, I'll do my best to make sure public and ATT customers won't consider ATT for future businesses!

[thelemurking]

If there was a problem with AT&T's data/3G network, wouldn't all phones be experiencing the same issue? Surely the iPhone is not the only 3G phone on AT&T's network. Also, since millions of people the world over are having the EXACT same problem, how can you fault AT&T?

It seems so easy to blame everyone but Apple! Some of you are such blind faithful sheep and would refuse to admit the problem might actually be the result of Apple. So be honest with yourselves and ask why blame AT&T when people in Japan, Germany, France and else where are having the same problem you guys are having here in the states.

[theoratical]

"blind faithful sheep" you are an idiot, then how come my brother's sony ericsson 3g phone has the same problem on ATT network. Apple products have many flaws, but this is not one of them because in certain areas it works fine. For the premium price that it charges, ATT should offer a better service. Blame yourself for being naive. The reason there a ton of people with iphone complaining is because iphone is a popular device, not a lot of a people have 3g sonny erricson phones, and it was advertised by ATT for its 3g network. Smart ass.

[thelemurking]

Then explain why the iPhones have the exact same problem all over the world no matter the network. I agree with you that you should get the service you pay for. I actually own a Samsung Instinct and am up at arms every day with Sprint when even basic apps will crash the phone. We constantly hear Sprint compare the Instinct to the iPhone and there are those who rejoice every time they hear of a problem with the iPhone, but truth be known, the Instinct suffers from many problems as well, down to it crashing, freezing and resetting the phone, 3rd party providers not able to offer the services we pay for and so on and so fourth. The blind faithful sheep comment was about the Apple fanboys who will buy any and every Apple product, who think Steve Jobs is the new Jesus and wouldn't believe a problem ever existed in an Apple product... and trust me, there are tons of them out there.

[jleb888]

Hurray!!!! AT&T breaches it's contract for service! AT&T is a SCUM company that has and will always, rip people off. The biggest mistake Jobs made was to hook the I-Phone to that company. Let me assure you, it will only get worse, not better. They bought my cell carrier in n. calif. Then they bought my isp provider. In each case, service went to hell, and unauthorized fee's and rip off's in billing occurred.

I am not surprised that it is "business as usual" with these corporate predators now that they have a hot new slab of fresh meat to slice up and devour.

Well, I don't think it will get better...but it may be the rational to open up the Iphone to other carriers.

I think the ATT 3g's full capacity was not tested until iPhone 3G. Even though other phones did had 3g they did use less data portion of 3g. Think thie link explains the problem. http://the.firehou.se/2008/08/13/what-iphone-3g-users-should-know-about-3g-networks/